Santa Cruz County History - Libraries & Schools

The Santa Cruz Public Library (now Libraries) received four grants
from the Carnegie Corporation, between 1903 and 1921, for the
construction of a main library and three branch buildings. All
four of these buildings were designed by noted California
architect William H. Weeks. Two of the four are still standing,
one as a museum (which is common for surviving Carnegie
Libraries) and the other as exactly what it was built to be, the
Garfield Park Branch of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries.

The Four Carnegie Libraries:

Santa Cruz Main, also called "The Carnegie
Library." 224 Church St., Santa Cruz.

Photo of the Library in 1903

This building was built in 1903, with a $20,000 grant of
Carnegie funds. It was the main branch of the Santa Cruz Public
Libraries, and later became the headquarters for the city/county
library system. The front of the library faced the gardens at
Santa Cruz City Hall across Cedar St., although this piece of
Cedar St. and the present City Hall weren't there until 1937.
The Main Library building was considered to be too small as early
as 1953, and it was demolished to make way for the present
Downtown Branch in 1966. When built in 1903, the building's
address was 52 Church St. (Most addresses in Santa Cruz were
renumbered between 1947 and 1950, when this building became 224
Church St.) [More about Santa Cruz
Main]

East Cliff & Seabright Library, 1305 East Cliff Drive,
Santa Cruz.

The grant from the Carnegie Corporation for this building,
and for Garfield Park Branch were both announced in November,
1913. The Seabright Branch Library opened in August of 1916 [1915, according to local history sources, including the History of Carnegie Libraries Website], and
in 1954-55 the City Museum was moved here and combined with the
library. The branch library was closed in 1965, leaving the
museum, which is now the City of Santa Cruz Museum of Natural
History. Two additions were built at the rear of the building, in
1962 and 1968, so only the front portion of the building, a
"Y" shaped structure, is original. The inside has been
extensively remodeled, but the exterior is recently painted and
is in excellent condition.

Eastside Library, 1263 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz.

The Eastside Branch was the last of the four Carnegie
Libraries built in Santa Cruz. The grant from the Carnegie
Corporation was received in 1917, but construction of the
building was delayed by World War I. The Eastside Branch opened
in 1921, and its address was 1263 Soquel Ave. The streets
surrounding the branch's triangular lot, Water and Poplar
Streets and Soquel Ave., became busier with traffic every decade,
and by the 1960's it was difficult to reach the building. The
passage of Measure B in 1964 (not to be confused with 1996's
Measure B) allowed the construction of not just a new main
branch, but of a new Eastside Branch as well. The Branciforte
Library opened in 1967, and the old Eastside Branch was closed,
and the building torn down. The triangular lot where it stood is
a park today [1997].

Drawing of the Eastside Branch Library

This illustration is based on the original blueprints done by
the office of William H. Weeks, and submitted to the Santa Cruz
County Recorder on 1 Sept. 1920. The "front" side of
the building faced Soquel Ave., so the view would be looking to
the north.

Garfield Park Branch Library, 705 Woodrow Ave., Santa
Cruz.

Like the Seabright Library, the grant for Garfield Park
Library was given to the city in November 1913. After some
controversy, the site was chosen in February 1914, on two lots at
the corner of Naglee and Garfield Avenues, and construction began
in November of that year. The winning bid to build William H.
Weeks's design was for $2,615, by W.A. White, and the
building opened in 1915. This is the only one of the four Santa
Cruz Carnegies that is still in operation as a library branch in
1997. [More about the Garfield Park
Library ]

Last updated 18 February 1997.

Copyright 1997 Daniel McMahon. Reproduced with the permission
of the author.

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